NJ city shows off $12 million in vehicles and gear that federal grants paid for

Officials showed off emergency management equipment they say the city greatly needs

By Terrence T. McDonald
The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Jersey City officials hosted a show-and-tell Wednesday of roughly $12 million in new fire trucks, police vehicles and other emergency-management equipment it has procured over the past three years by using federal grant money.

Much of the equipment, which includes a $1 million field command unit and a $420,000 ambulance bus, may not be used on a regular basis, officials said, but they don't want to be caught without it if there's a catastrophic event.

Jersey City obtains about $1.5 million in federal grants annually, and the grants that paid for the equipment on display Wednesday could not have been used to hire extra personnel, said Police Chief Tom Comey, who noted that the city's new high-tech toys are greatly needed.